Catherine walks into our protagonists office and with a smile introduces herself.
"Hi, I'm Cat. I'm new here," she says...

Fuck it, close enough :)

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Reality travelling with GF/Company officer whem theres 6 other me's for additional security.

They were supposed to be enemies. The Dark Queen and the Hero of Light. But they fell in love instead. A queen and her hero prepare to put aside their differences for love.

And the gods are not having it.

Hi Chop! This felt more like a lead-in to a longer story but it was a great lead-in! Pauline felt really vivid and real as a character, with her struggle to make a living and dream of breaking a huge story. Her impatience was woven in well throughout the entire story too.

I'd have appreciated a bit more specifics about the exact nature of the story Pauline is chasing. There's photos as evidence but I'd have liked some idea about what was in those photos, if that makes sense. Other than that, I feel like describing her informant's sudden greeting as "something hitting her in the side of the head" was a bit too misleading. I genuinely thought the contact had thrown something at Pauline to get her attention and it was kind of jarring to mentally readjust. Just my two cents.

Good words!

We seemed to reach an understanding, despite no words being spoken. We turned away from each other, leaving behind the burning love we felt during those seven days and nights, locking it away in our hearts.

It would still generate the opportunity is what I meant, I should have clarified, my bad. It just opens to door to what you want, whether the door is an actual door or something less concrete than that, and you just have to pull the other half of the weight.

Might be a bit but I might have a story based on this in a moment.

Google: kissing boys.
Google: How to kiss boys
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Wikihow: how to tell if ur gay
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Google Incognito mode: boys kissing each other
Google: free robux hack
Yahoo Answers: how to tell a boy I love him?

A boy who lies a lot (and is good at it) and a girl who is always skeptical

I mean, you'd have to find a way to hit it off since it doesn't outright grant it but yeah pretty much

The bag was ripped mercilessly off her head and she blinked in the sudden light. Four men stood in the room while a fifth, lounging in an armchair in the back corner of the room seemed to sit up and pay intense attention to her. “I’m not whoever you think I am.” She managed dryly as soon as the gag was removed.

So if someone were to wish for say, something ridiculous as a catgirl girlfriend, the key would lead the current owner to meeting one and the 2 somehow hitting it off?

Gee, wouldn't that be terrible /s

Actually, a mod removed it. I think Mr. Ye's lawyers bribed them haha.

The burly soldier-for-hire furrowed his brow. "A key?... What's it open?"

"pfft.. never needed a key before, not looking for one now. Pass." The fair-skinned elf excused herself from the table. She didn't go far; leaning against a nearby post, scanning the tavern's crowd for a loose pocket or two. But not quite far enough to be unable to listen in on the negotiations. Clearly a well practiced thief.

"Plenty of keys out there," a cleric of some unpronounceable deity stated flatly. "What makes this one special enough to hire anyone to find it?"

The fourth member of the group, a wizened old crone, listened intently. I sensed she already deduced what I was looking for. The feeling of a mental scrying spell worked its way over my scalp. Lying now would be a poor decision.

"It isn't a key in the traditional sense. It's not designed to lock anything away; it's meant to open possibilities."

The scrying spell receded. The crone leaned forward, a small smile appearing in the corners of her mouth. "I believe I know the object you seek." Her voice was strong and deep, certainly not what you may expect from her external appearance. "What do you know if it, young scribe?"

"Not enough." Breathing deeply, I began my tale. "I had been foolish. I hadn't realized what it was... the Wishmaker's Key."

The cleric and soldier looked at each other with confused looks. The thief slightly - almost imperceptibly - cocked her head to better hear the next part of the story. The crone's smile remained. "Please... tell us."

"I was with a group similar to yours; but very different circumstances. They had hired me to record their ... for lack of a better term... exploits. Low-stakes adventuring, work-for-hire guard duty, so on, so forth. But they got a job from a local baron to pilfer a local monastery."

A disapproving glare stabbed into me from across the table. It seemed the soldier had a negative opinion of raiders. And had an even lower opinion of those that would compare them to his adventuring group.

"The monks put up no resistance; almost welcoming, in fact. The raiders grabbed the loot as instructed, I wrote... some nonsense that would paint them as the aggrieved party or some such rubbish. Don't worry, I burned it later."

The cleric yawned deeply. "Clearly not a temple of the Faded One. You would not have walked out alive. Kindly, get to the point."

"As we were leaving, one of the monks pressed an oiled leather pouch into my hand. 'Take this,' he said. 'May it show you another path.' I hid the pouch from the others, and parted ways with them soon after. Once I had returned to the local inn, I retreated to my room and emptied the pouch onto window shelf. A single key clattered out. No larger than a standard key, no distinct adornments. Simple tooth pattern, seeming made of brass. But something unexplainable. The air around it seemed to... warp, almost. I knew immediately there was something magical about it. I decided to visit the academy to research it further."

"I looked through every book about legendary treasure; every book about less legendary treasures. Even the back pages of those adventuring guides for beginners. Nothing about this non-descript key."

"And that's when I made my mistake."

"I had been absorbed in reading these storied tomes about magical artifacts; the florid stories about their creation and the results of their use. I took the key out of my pocket, looked at it from all angles. And, in a moment of exhaustion, I said - out loud -"

"I wish I could write a story about a magical artifact and have it carry down through history."

The thief had returned to the table; I hadn't even noticed. "What happened then?"

"Nothing, really. I sat their a bit longer, thinking about my next steps. It occurred to me to try and revisit the monk who gave me the key in the first place. I put the key back in my pocket, and gathered up the tomes to return them back to the stacks. I ordered my notes, packed up my bag, then got ready to leave. I instinctively moved my hand to my pocket to confirm the key was still there..."

"And it was gone."

"I panicked. Searched the desk I was working at, emptied my bag, scoured the floors and ransacked the stacks where I had been earlier. No trace. Dejected, I eventually found my way back to the monastery. I spoke to the monk that gave me the key, stating what had happened. He simply smiled and said 'I am glad it has given you what you needed.' I stood there in profound confusion. He then handed me a tattered scroll. It was in an ancient language, which took weeks to translate. It described the key perfectly. Even the way it had disappeared was part of the legend. And gave it a name: the Wishmaker's Key. The scroll described as having vast power, but applied it in an impossibly subtle way. You had to work for it... but the key can grant wishes."

I let that last word hang in the air. Wishes... every adventurer knew the unfathomable power of a wish.

The cleric broke the silence. "When do we start?" The thief grinned broadly, and looked to the soldier. Already he could see twos 'ayes' to take the job; no point fighting the tide.

"Alright, we accept. Be ready to ride at first light."

The others eventually drifted off to drinks or delights, but the crone remained. "So... what drives you to find the key again? More wishes?"

It was my turn to smile. "No, I just want to write about the journey to find it. I can't think of a better way to grant my own wish."

It's been hours since your online friend was supposed to meet here for the first time. It's not that bad, you've really started falling for this oddly familar girl you're intrested in.

"I don’t know how to feel about him,” said Professor Helios as he dug through his backpack for a biscuit.

elf mommy

It would probably create a scientific breakthrough somewhere, and you'll be given an opportunity as a test subject for an experiment for some type of drug or something that prevents aging.

Keep in mind it's also able to grant supernatural/magical things, but it will do so in the closest way to reality.

Or breaks in half and then another random key somewhere turns into the Wishmaker's Key, like one of the replies above

i imagined it would glow, break in half, then teleports elsewhere to grant someone else's wish (though somehow repaired)

Aww, thank you! And I guess, that's how I feel about you and your guys' writing. Seriously, you blow me away with what you come up with every week. It's amazing and a pleasure to read. And an honour to give feedback too.

And glad to hear my confusion wasn't limited to me, haha.

YTB

Is it a note scribbled with the number 42?

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Thank you

Nah, the third wish is to undo the first 2.

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